Arizona weekly citizen., 1887-08-27
THEODORE THOMAS.
HIS PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS AS 4 MUSICAL CONDUCTOR.

S0 A mOOiONG
 How He Is Regarded by Prominent Mu-
 ,iclan.-Hou tho Best Results Are Ob-
 tained from an Orchestra-Seoessity of
 Tyranny.
 It must be clearly understood that the musical director Of a great body or musicians occupies a petition analogous to that of the autocrat of all the Russians. To be a sue cess he must be tyTant. He stands as on throne, with scepter in hand, and no bar oi iron must be more inhexibls than the VIII which for the time controls sixty or more human beings, each one or whom DeIleNes ne Is perfectly capable of understanding the canons oftaste an1 capable Oi p'ayhS his own little solo. When MT. Thomas began his task of giving Americans just ana true insight into the beauties of classical orches- traI music. when he first developed the capac,ty for good work which had been dor rnant here. and determined to b. the conduc- tor of an orchestra as fine as any in Europe, the old fogv element very nearly stood on its head in it's amazement and surprise. lt Is useless to reiterate the story of the wild dis cussions which ensued when the Thomas
 
 hility of the very highest order.
 The sour. rigid traditions of the past were all crushed out by this new order of things, the secret of which was discipline. All over | the country. wherever the Theodore Thomas orchestra played, the utmost delight was manifested Its performances occasioned almost A revolution. and. better yet, swak- .ne-i A love Of classical music before Jun knoyyn In Boston MT. Thomas received instantaneous recognition as the ideal con lurtor from the best cr1tics and musical ! i,Jg,-s IL was the beginning of that 'cul- | i,,r.'' which mas given the public the Boston ! s,rnphony concerts and the American opera ! .onuany The key to this situation, as far ,s Theodore Thomas l. concerned, was his ,auuaranental ability to command; m other vx,r,I, to b- the conductor Of an orchestra; for. strange as it may seem $ large orchestra composed of players who arc proficient upon | their respective instruments will play badly ! unisr one conductor and with the utmost precision under another.
 ART STRUNG ON NERVES
 But this is all discipline. An d moro ! .-ranre is it that music Is an art strung on | nerves and allied to the most uncertain | ,.r,u-r The sweetest Of all sciences, its Pos | session will make cranks Of the very angels ' To be thoroughly happy the musical direct1 ouyht to be a clam, but unfortunately with | this musical faculty Is given hyper-sensi- | tiveness that has nothing of the cold hlooded | uuollusk in its nature. The orchestra con ductor must b. a man of nerve well as | nerves. he must have the characteristics of a | general. ths courage of tight rope dancer | and a highly cultivated musical tastel How close the musical director of an orchestra | conles tO this Heal the public knows by the | perfection of his orchestra. Artists cannot | brook reprOof they are demoralized by | public condemnation, and praise bestowed on | others wounds them to the quick, even while they may b. generous in their own expres- | sions of mutual admiration. They absolute | ly cannot help this weakness-it is part Of the penalty they pay for being artists. | From the leader Os the first vioins to the | drum player there always exists spirit of opposition to the man at the helm To hold 1 this spirit in cheek is the triumph of the con | ductor Had Mr Thomas not been the mar | tinet he Is be could never have given such concerts, but every player understood that 1 he knew what he wanted He might be a | fend incarnate, which he is not, and yet re- tain the respect of those very men who writhe 1 under his sharp rrprimand, because he ] knows. For an orchestra which must frs. | have confidence in the ability of its con. | ductor. quickly detects or miss-s the power ti | instruct and lead As the drill sergeant is the most hated man in the regiment, SO h the | disciplinarian of au orchestra when he rrsi | insists on absolute obedience Many musi cians who have grown up with Thomas tss | tify to his exactions but they never fail to | admit his mastery of the most obscure tech | nicalities in either their work or his own
 When once an orchestra is assured of the conductors ability to direct, and they know they need not depend on themselves, they follow hlindly; they become machines of which be holds and rules the moving power. l HE MUST BE A TYRAST.
 | But this is not all It would be too bliSs. | ful a state of things were it so. For a con | ductor, be he ever 90 able. h useless, a mere fizment of art, unless he is tyrant. Hs must have bis way, and nobody else's way. Soldiers commanded to fire don't stop to ask why. There Is no appeal from the decision of the conductor. The player who cannot or will not obey, literally cannot be shot or courtmartialed, but he must go. The con l ductor, like Thomas, has an idea of a com position ss a whole. His orchestra is only the instrument, and he performs on 1t and interprets the work according to his taste and knowledge Theodore Thomas success is in playing on 1t with the most perfect technique. It must and does follow his l lightest touch He has trained it until his baton is its only source of motion. Ii breathes with his breath and pulsates with every heart beat of that insensate but vivid
 stick. No incapable players are to be toler- ated in his orchestra or in any perfect orchestra, wherever it may be found. They simply vanish and are as though they had
 not been.
 In picking his men Mr. Thomas has al-
 ways chosen the player for his technique for it must be individual technique first and
 then the technique of the conductor The instrument must be perfect, for this instru-
 ment Is the orchestra. It is the means and the conductor is the end. Thomas, to carry out these exact principles was forced,
 whether by wish or necessity, to be the mar ! tinet that he is He knows what he wants
 and will have it. And it must be gemem-
 bered that musicians individually have n1 intelligent connection with musicians collec' | lively until the conductors baton sets them
 going. He has studied the great works in
 their entirety and absorbed their spirit and sentiment, while the men have only studied
 their respective parts It Is not mere tims beating on the part of the conductor, but s exac. baton following on the part of the men | To insist on this and have it is the achieve
 mont of q perfect orchestral conductor. | Thomas knew always that he must have no
 complished artists, the best that could be ob
 sained, and when he got them he knew hOs
 Co dominate them by discipline into follow
 ing his lead in the minuteSt shades.
 There is no power equal to the power of .
 perfectly disciplined orchestra. It is instinct
 with one life, and subjective in ;he highest
 Sense to one thought, ono mind While
 Theodore Thomas is masterly conductor,
 he is not a musician in tho sense of being a composer or an accomplished player on any particular instrument. His forte is rigid discipline of an orchestra Boston Herald
 Gold from Guiana.
 British Guiana is making large shipments of gold to England, and the prospects are that the shipments will rival in value t1s great ex. pOris of sugar, nolasses and rum .---.-